Wednesday, February 29th 2012

As the final leg of fashion month begins, designers who showed in New York, London, and Milan have a moment to come up for air before diving into their resort collections. We took that opportunity to chat with Marchesa designers Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig about their fall runway collection: classical elements done with the duo’s signature feminine flair. And, naturally, we couldn’t help but ask Georgina about Project Runway All Stars as well.

Shopbop: Tell us about the fall 2012 collection. What was the inspiration?Georgina Chapman & Keren Craig: This season we looked at a religious painting called “A Soul Brought to Heaven,” by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, and studied a lot of religious iconography from the Catholic churches of the 15th century.

SB:Talk a bit about the color palette. What shades did you work with?GC & KC: The color palette was filled with pale shades of nude, cream, ivory, and blue, and then there were a ton of more dramatic and fiery shades of blood red, gold lamé, teal, white, and black.

SB:Tell us a little about what went into planning the runway show. How important is the venue and the music?GC & KC: There is a lot of planning involved when doing a runway show, from creating and designing the pieces for the collection to fittings, casting the models, and choosing the right venue and music. Each collection has an inspiration behind it. We always aim to have all the elements fall within that same theme so it all ties together.

SB:Georgina, we’d be remiss if we didn’t ask you about your work as a judge on Project Runway All Stars. What’s the toughest part of your job?GC: All the contestants are extremely talented and work very hard, which makes it difficult come elimination time.

SB:So far, what has been your favorite All Stars design challenge?GC: The 99-cent store challenge. It was amazing to see what could be achieved using inexpensive materials.

SB:What one piece of advice would you offer the remaining designers?GC: Keep working hard and keep true to your vision and aesthetic regardless of the challenge.